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Virginia House forms emergency committee over Musk’s attacks on federal workers

By Michael O'Connor

February 5, 2025

“This is not about politics—it’s about protecting Virginia’s workforce, economy, and essential services,” Virginia House Speaker Don Scott said.

A bipartisan group of Virginia lawmakers will look into the impacts of the Trump Administration’s drastic and legally questionable shrinking of federal services and its workforce. 

Virginia House Speaker Don Scott announced yesterday the formation of an Emergency Committee on the Impacts of Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions. The committee is tasked with assessing the economic impacts of federal funding and workforce cuts. 

“The federal administration’s announced plans to ‘drain’ the federal workforce and the pause in federal funding raise serious concerns for Virginia’s economy and the ability to maintain essential services,” Scott said in a statement. “This committee will evaluate the impact of these cuts and develop solutions to safeguard Virginia’s economic future.”

Scott formed the committee in response to the chaos and confusion caused by the Trump Administration’s moves to end important services provided by the federal government. Last week, a memo from the Office of Management and Budget instructed federal agencies to freeze all federal grants and other payments, which impacted vital services like Medicaid. The memo was later rescinded after a court challenge. 

Watch: Virginia Senate Majority Leader Blasts Federal Funding Freeze

 

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This week, Elon Musk moved to shut down the US Agency for International Development as part of his work leading the Trump-created Department of Government Efficiency. Trump’s goal to dismantle vast swathes of the federal government was well understood before he was elected. 

While Republicans have largely stood silent, Democrats have rallied in Washington in protest of the Trump administration’s deluge of attacks on the federal government. In Richmond, Speaker Scott has long been a critic of what he calls the Trump-Musk administration and Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s support for Trump. Youngkin planned to be at the White House today in support of Trump’s anti-trans agenda. 

 

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“This is not about politics—it’s about protecting Virginia’s workforce, economy, and essential services,” Scott said. “With nearly 145,000 federal civilian employees and even more federal contractors calling Virginia home, we depend on a strong partnership with the federal government to provide critical services.”

The American Federation of Government Employees, a large union representing federal workers including in Virginia, intends to enforce its collective bargaining agreements and challenge the Trump Administration when it breaks the law, said the union’s public policy director Jacqueline Simon. Simon said many federal workers are fired up and angry over the Trump Administration, which wants to politicize the work they do, end telework, and is pushing many to resign. 

“They’re basically angry and they’re insulted, and they really don’t feel like they want to let Elon Musk bully them,” Simon said in an interview with The Dogwood. “They are ready to defend themselves”

  • Michael O'Connor

    Michael is an award-winning journalist who has been covering Virginia news since 2013 with reporting stints at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Virginia Business, and Richmond BizSense. A graduate of William & Mary and Northern Virginia Community College, he also covered financial news for S&P Global Market Intelligence.

CATEGORIES: NATIONAL POLITICS

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